Just a bachelor degree & Japanese language skills may give you a chance to drive bullet train

Since most of the training is going to be provided in Japan, the agency is planning to keep Japanese language as a qualification for bullet train drivers

ET Online|

Aug 13, 2018, 01.46 PM IST

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The agency plans to initially hire 56 bullet train drivers and around that many station masters.

If you have a bachelor's degree and know some Japanese, you have a good chance to drive India's first bullet train. According to National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL), the implementing agency of Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train, along with psychometry test and Japanese language skills, minimum educational qualification for drivers is likely to be Bachelor’s degree, not engineering. The agency plans to initially hire 56 bullet train drivers and around that many station masters.

A Hindustan Times report said since most of the training is going to be provided in Japan and most trainers there don't know English, the agency is planning to keep Japanese language as a qualification for the bullet train drivers.

Psychometric tests are also going to be another criteria for hiring of high-speed train drivers. Psychometric tests measures the individual’s suitability for the role based on his personality characteristics and aptitude. The test identifies the extent to which a candidate’s personality and cognitive abilities match to the required role.

“The agency plans to send about 360 people for training in Japan in 2-3 years,” Hindustan Times quoted a NHSRCL official.

India's first Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is expected to be constructed by August 2022 with the help of Japan. The government plans to start construction for the 508-km long train corridor in January 2019. Once the bullet train project is operational, the journey between the two cities will be completed in two hours, instead of eight-nine hours at present.

Initially, the bullet trains will operate 35 trips each way between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and will carry around 700 passengers on each trip. The fares for the train is likely to be between Rs 250 and Rs 3,000 depending on the destination. NHRC plans to operate 24 train sets with 10 coaches each.

Each train will have 55 business class seats and 695 seats for standard class. There will be facilities for sick persons, separate washrooms for men and women and toilets with extra space for wheelchair-bound passengers. Passengers will also get a dedicated room for child feeding.

Japanese International Cooperation Agency is providing a soft loan of Rs 88,000 crore for the project for a period of 50 years at a nominal annual interest rate of 0.1 per cent. Japan has given a moratorium of 15 years to the railways, which means the railways will start paying only after 15 years from the date the loan was released. According to estimates, the ambitious project will cost around $17 billion.